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Senator urges MBTA to place naloxone across subway lines and to file overdue report
Summary
Senator John Keenan urged the Joint Committee on Transportation to advance a bill (S2398) directing the MBTA to place naloxone in subway stations and to comply with prior budget language that required naloxone at red line stations and a report by Sept. 1, 2025. Keenan said naloxone has saved lives and should be as widely available as fire extingu
Senator John Keenan told the Joint Committee on Transportation he supports legislation (Senate Bill 2398) that would direct the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to place naloxone in subway stations statewide. Keenan said the MBTA's implementation of prior FY24 budget language — which required naloxone at red line stations — has been limited to a small number of stations and that a required report (due Sept. 1, 2025) has not been filed.
"Naloxone literally saved lives by reversing overdoses," Keenan said, and argued the committee should exercise oversight of MBTA compliance and extend the requirement to all four subway lines. He said naloxone should be "as common as fire extinguishers" on transit and recommended that availability be expanded further to buses and commuter-rail cars. Keenan cited Massachusetts' overdose death toll (2,387 in 2023) to underscore the measure's urgency.
The committee accepted Keenan's testimony and did not take a vote during the hearing; staff recorded that a written report from the MBTA remains outstanding.
